Dormouse update
SUE WARD
5 Hall Cottages, Church Road, Frating, Essex
Following my article in Essex Naturalist 17, concerning one particular Dormouse hibernation nest
found in February 2000, I carefully observed the nest site at regular intervals for signs of departure.
The surrounding Bluebells spread to cover the woodland floor, and the marker stick I had placed
proved invaluable in relocating the nest The Bluebells flowered and had begun to die back in early
May when an exit hole was found. This showed that the Dormouse had successfully survived
hibernation and moved out, possibly appearing in one of the nearby boxes later in our monthly
survey.
As mentioned previously, we placed eight Dormouse boxes in April at fairly regular intervals in the
bushes and trees bordering a brook between two woodlands we are surveying. Both woods contain
breeding Dormice, and our intention was to discover if the connecting corridor was also being used.
On our first check of the boxes in May, we were pleased to find a Dormouse nest in one of the
hedgerow boxes. And by the end of the monthly checks in November, half of the boxes had been
used by Dormice. September was especially exciting, one box containing two adults and five very
active juveniles. This corridor consists of mature trees, pockets of hedgerow, including a few Hazel,
and patches of Bramble with some open ground in between. Clearly the corridor is being used by
Dormice, although movement between the woods has not been demonstrated; at this stage it does
not seem necessary for the corridor to be planted up with further trees and shrubs.
Erythristic Mole Talpa europaea at Little Dunmow
DAVID SCOTT
Court Hill, Church Lane, Little Leighs, Chelmsford CM3 1PG
In October 2000, an erythristic Mole was found dead in the garden of the Old Rectory, Little Dunmow
(TL655214) by Mike Ulph. It had characteristic ginger fur and pink soft parts (see plate 5), and
appealed to have been killed by a dog bite. There are just two previous reported occurrences of this
unusual form in Essex, both since 1953 (Dobson 1999).
Reference
DOBSON, J. (1999) The Mammals of Essex. Lopinga, Wimbish, Essex.
Essex Naturalist (New Series) 18 (2001)
67